Castle's Chair
by DoctorCampHogwarts
Summary: Based off what Beckett said in 7x01 about her rituals during Castle's disappearance. So, what happened when the night janitor moved Castle's chair?


Beckett sat on the edge of her desk and stared at the picture of Castle on the murder board. He had been gone for two weeks now. She was starting to find it hard not to listen to the people that told her that he wasn't coming back. She knew though, that if she kept looking at his picture, he would come back. She was sure of it.

Her eyes started to droop, but she knew she had to keep cracking at it until she found Castle. She got up and walked over to the break room to get another cup of coffee. A list of all the people she had yet to call ran through her head as she finished making her cup of coffee. When she was done, she grabbed her mug and took a sip as she walked out to go to her desk.

She stopped in her tracks right before reaching her desk as she saw the night janitor move Castle's chair from its spot next to her desk.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

The night janitor looked up from what he was doing and looked at her in confusion. "I'm cleaning."  
"No. You can't touch that," she pressed. He couldn't touch it. If he moved it, Castle wouldn't come back.

"But I need to do my job," the janitor insisted, moving the chair a little bit farther.

"I said don't touch that!" she shouted, pulling her gun and pointing it at the janitor. The janitor dropped the chair and looked at her in alarm. As if from a distance, she heard the smashing of porcelain as her mug of coffee hit the floor. "Put the chair back where it was." The night janitor stood, frozen, afraid to move. "NOW!"

Suddenly, Esposito came bursting in, his gun drawn. "Beckett?" He took the situation in in one glance and holstered his weapon. Beckett glanced over at him for a second before turning back toward the janitor. "I'd suggest you put the chair back, Frank," Esposito said.

The janitor nodded and slowly put the chair back where he had found it. Beckett's hand shook as she watched him leaving, not moving her gun from where it was. Esposito slowly approached her with his hand raised placatingly.

"Beckett?" he said soothingly. "Put the gun away. No one's going to touch Castle's chair."

She stared at him for a second before shakily holstering her weapon and looking down at the mess her smashed coffee had made on the floor.

"Crap," she mumbled, turning to go find something to clean it up with.

"Don't worry about that, Beckett," Espo said. "You should sit down."

"But-" she replied, feebly motioning toward the floor.

Esposito shook his head and helped her to her chair. "I'll help Frank clean it up later. Right now, you need to sit down. It might be better if you went home and got some sleep."

Beckett shook her head and escaped the stupor she had been in since she had seen the night janitor pick up Castle's chair. "No," she objected. "I've got phone calls to make. I have to find Castle."

"You can't find Castle if you're burned out," Espo reasoned. "And certainly not if you're fired for shooting night janitors. You've been searching non-stop for two weeks. I think Castle would understand the break, Beckett."

"But he's got to be alive," Beckett pushed. "I've got to find him."

Espo shook his head. "You won't find him at all if you burn yourself and can't keep going. Go get some real sleep, Kate. Not one of those cat naps you've been taking at your desk for the past two weeks. Get a fresh start in the morning. I'll make sure you're the first person I call if anything related to Castle happens."

Beckett paused before nodding slowly, her eyes already drooping at the thought of sleep in her own bed. She hadn't finished her coffee. "Okay," she finally agreed.

Esposito nodded and smiled as she grabbed her coat and headed for the elevator. "I'll see you in the morning, Beckett."

"Thank you, Javi," she replied. "Don't let anybody touch his chair please."

Espo nodded. "I'll guard it with my life," he replied right before the elevator doors closed.

She closed her eyes and prayed that she would find Castle soon.


End file.
